The Demon Card

by Jason Strange

  Mark looked back at the hospital. Smoke was coming from a few windows on the first floor, but it didn’t look too bad. A fire truck’s siren wailed in the distance, getting closer by the second.

  Mark sat down next to Alex. “Told you that card is cursed,” Mark said.

  Alex nodded. “I guess so,” he said. He lay back on the grass. Then he dug into his jeans pocket. “The warning!” he said. He pulled out his phone.

  “What warning?” Mark asked.

  “We have to find the person who posted on that forum,” Alex said. He fumbled with the phone, but dropped it. He grabbed his ribs and grunted.

  Alex picked his phone up and tapped the screen. Through gritted teeth, he said, “We have to destroy the card.”

  Mark grabbed his friend’s phone. “Let me,” Mark said. He opened the discussion board and found the post. Then he quickly emailed the person who’d left the message.

  Mark’s face scrunched up and his eyes narrowed. “That’s weird,” he said.

  “What’s weird?” Alex asked.

  Mark held up the phone so Alex could see it. The poster’s name was AngerHeart.

  Alex coughed. “So?” he said impatiently.

  Mark pulled out DeathBringer and turned the card over in his hands. “You don’t think . . .” Mark said, trailing off.

  Alex looked at him. “Think what?” he said.

  “AngerHeart,” Mark said. “Do you think it was the real AngerHeart that warned us?”

  Alex chuckled. “There are probably a thousand guys with the same username,” he said. “There is no real AngerHeart, dork. It’s just a playing card.”

  Mark held up a playing card to Alex’s face. “Just like there’s no real DeathBringer?” he asked.

  Alex snatched the card. “We don’t know he’s real,” he said. “We only know the card is . . . cursed. Or something.”

  “Oh, he’s real,” Mark said. He took the card back and stared at the demonic image on the front.

  “Whatever,” Alex said. “Just destroy it. Rip it in half — now.”

  Mark grabbed the card with both his hands. He flexed his arms and twisted as hard as he could. The card stayed straight. “It’s made of a weird metal, or something,” Mark said. “I can’t even bend it.”

  Alex’s phone chirped. He clicked through to see a new message. “It’s from AngerHeart,” he said. “It just says, ‘Put me in play, and cast ‘Presence’.”

  “The special ability?” Mark asked. “But it isn’t even in the game yet.”

  Alex dug through his bag and found his AngerHeart card. “Set up a battle,” he said.

  “Fine,” Mark said. Without shuffling or giving it much thought, he laid out cards for a battle between the two warriors. “Do it.”

  “I cast Presence,” Alex said, tapping AngerHeart’s card.

  Thunder clapped. Mark and Alex jerked their heads up just as a bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky and struck the earth in front of the boys.

  The blast of blinding white light was so bright that Mark and Alex had to cover their eyes. When Mark pulled his hand away and squinted, he saw a gigantic man standing before him.

  “You have summoned AngerHeart!” the warrior roared.

  Chapter 5

  AngerHeart

  AngerHeart stomped toward the boys, his steel boots shaking the earth. “You should have heeded my warning and destroyed that card!” the warrior shouted. “Give it to me.”

  Mark glanced at Alex, then stood up. With a trembling hand, he held out his DeathBringer card. AngerHeart snatched it away. Mark was amazed at how quickly the warrior moved his heavily armored hands.

  AngerHeart held the card before his face.

  “You foolish boys,” the warrior said. “You have interfered with powers beyond your understanding.”

  “We — we didn’t know,” Alex said. “It’s just a game!”

  “A game?” AngerHeart roared. “A game is something little children play while their mommies look on. Are you little children?”

  Mark and Alex just stared at the warrior. Neither spoke.

  “This,” AngerHeart said, gripping the metallic card between two gloved fingers, “is the fiercest of all Warriors. To the demon race, DeathBringer is a god. He should have remained imprisoned inside this card . . . but you two fools have released him into this world!”

  “We didn’t mean to!” Mark protested.

  AngerHeart sighed. “It matters not,” he said. He put a hand on Mark’s shoulder. The boy felt the warrior looking at him sternly. “Our course is clear. We must finally destroy DeathBringer.”

  “Okay,” Alex said. “You have the card. Do your thing.”

  AngerHeart shook his head. “It is not that simple,” he said. “Had you listened to my warning at once, I could have destroyed the demon with the card. Now he is too powerful, thanks to this game of yours.”

  “So, what do we do?” Mark asked.

  AngerHeart looked around. They were on the edge of the hospital parking lot. Two fire trucks had pulled up to the hospital and the fire fighters were just heading inside.

  Since the alarm bells were still ringing, everyone in the hospital was being escorted out. The parking lot was beginning to fill up with doctors, nurses, patients, and families.

  “This place is too crowded,” the warrior said. “It is not suitable for battle.”

  “Where should we go?” Alex asked.

  “A big, open space,” AngerHeart said. “There should be no other people around. Just me and the demon — and you two meddlers, of course. Take me to your grandest arena!”

  Mark smirked. “I know just the place,” he said. “Follow me.”

  Chapter 6

  The Demon Card

  Mark led the warrior and Alex to the Ravens Pass High School football stadium. It was still early on Saturday morning, so no one was around. The two boys and their armor-clad companion stood on the fifty-yard line.

  “This battleground will be adequate,” AngerHeart said.

  “Is this really necessary?” Alex asked. “I mean, can’t you just use your axe to cut the card to pieces?”

  “Destroying the card while the demon lives,” AngerHeart replied, “would free him into your world. He would take over your nations and rule over all humans.”

  AngerHeart leaned toward Mark, inches from his face. “Is that what you want?” he growled. His hot breath hit Mark’s face like a punch.

  “No,” Mark said quickly.

  “Exactly,” AngerHeart said. “So I must defeat him in battle. Only then will we bring an end to his evil for good.”

  The warrior pulled the axe from its sheath on his back. He lifted his shield and held it across his chest. He was ready to fight.

  “Summon the demon!” AngerHeart shouted. “Call forth DeathBringer!”

  Mark blinked. Alex cleared his throat. The boys stared blankly at each other.

  AngerHeart lowered his shield a few inches. “What are you waiting for, boy?” AngerHeart said. “Release the demon. I am ready.”

  “Um,” Mark said, “how?”

  AngerHeart sighed loudly. “How did you summon me?” he asked in an annoyed voice.

  “I cast your special ability, Presence,” Alex said.

  AngerHeart got into his battle stance again. “Then do it again,” he growled.

  Mark quickly set up his decks. He placed his hand on his DeathBringer card and paused. He glanced up at AngerHeart. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. AngerHeart nodded.

  As Mark tapped the card, he braced himself for the worst. “I cast ‘Presence’,” he said.

  Immediately, heavy black clouds began to roll across the horizon. Lightning rippled across AngerHeart’s silver armor.

  Thunder boomed so loudly that Alex and Mark fell to their knees and covered their ears.

  A great crimson flame blasted upward from the center of the field. Alex and Mark shielded their faces, but couldn’t look away. As soon the flame died down, smoke that
stank of sulfur and death settled on the grass. As it began to fade, they saw the shadow of a figure emerge.

  On the scorched grass stood DeathBringer. His image on the card had been impressive — even a little creepy, if Mark was completely honest. But in person, DeathBringer was bigger than Mark had expected. He towered over even AngerHeart, making the gigantic knight look small.

  The great demon threw down his weapon and shield. Then he let loose a violent roar.

  Suddenly, his hands burst into flames. He brought his flaming, armor-covered, fists upward slowly, as if he were lifting an object off the ground. A ring of fire surrounded the stadium’s field, trapping them all inside the flames.

  “Now,” DeathBringer’s voice boomed out. “Who has challenged me?!”

  Chapter 7

  The Battle Begins

  “I will need your help,” AngerHeart cried out to Mark. “Play all your cards. Help me in any way you can!”

  With that, the great warrior raised his battle-axe over his head and charged at the demon. DeathBringer turned to face him, lifting his shield tight to his armored face.

  Mark and Alex scrambled to get their decks set up. They flipped through their cards, looking for any that would help a human warrior like AngerHeart.

  Mark laid out a few ally cards, then looked up at the fight. AngerHeart was behind his shield, blocking blast after blast from DeathBringer’s fiery mace. With each strike, AngerHeart’s shield cracked more and more until it shattered, sending AngerHeart to his knees.

  “We need a healer!” Alex shouted.

  Mark nodded and played a healer card. When he did, the human mage YoungBloom appeared behind AngerHeart. Right away, she cast Greater Healing. A bright white light formed in her palms, then floated like a small silver ball into AngerHeart’s chest.

  AngerHeart leaped to his feet and crashed his shoulder into DeathBringer’s shield. The great demon was knocked to his back, his shield split in two.

  The demon threw his shattered shield aside and climbed to his feet. “Your allies cannot help you, fools,” he said. Then DeathBringer cast a mighty burst of flames at YoungBloom. She fell to the grass, defeated.

  Mark looked down to see YoungBloom’s card burn and curl inward. In seconds, it became a pile of ashes.

  DeathBringer bellowed, “I cannot be defeated!”

  The boys cast every ally card they had. They sent in healers and thieves and rangers. They called warrior after warrior. They called great bears and dire wolves and even a phoenix. The demon god destroyed all of them, quickly and easily.

  Finally, AngerHeart was alone on the field, face to face with DeathBringer.

  There were no more allies or pet cards to play. Mark and Alex had tapped them all, using every ability they could. Dozens of small piles of ashes rested at their feet. Only AngerHeart’s card remained.

  DeathBringer stomped across the field toward the warrior. He swung his morning star at AngerHeart. The warrior blocked it with his armored glove, but DeathBringer slammed his other fiery fist into AngerHeart’s visor, knocking the warrior to the ground.

  The demon pushed down on AngerHeart’s mailed chest with heavy, black greaves.

  DeathBringer raised his weapon and swirled it over his head. “Now you die,” he said. “And this mortal world becomes mine!”

  Chapter 8

  Stabbed in the Back

  Mark knew he had to do something. He scanned DeathBringer’s card with his eyes, desperately looking for some sort of clue.

  Then he had an idea. Mark stood up, holding DeathBringer’s card. “Not so fast!” he said. “I have one more weapon to cast.”

  “No weapon will save your warrior now, mortal,” DeathBringer said through a laugh.

  “Oh, yeah?” Mark said. “I cast Demon Dagger!” He tapped DeathBringer’s card, summoning a green dagger that had a one-hundred-point attack power bonus against demons.

  The magical weapon appeared in DeathBringer’s hand. It was jagged and glowed with a demonic red energy.

  DeathBringer laughed. “You fool!” he said. “Did you think my special weapon would help this weak human warrior? He cannot equip this dagger. Only I can!”

  With that, the demon threw the dagger into the ground. It stuck into the ground only feet from Mark and Alex, making them leap back in fear.

  The demon growled fiercely as he turned back to face AngerHeart.

  DeathBringer raised his weapon over his head and prepared to bring it down on the unconscious warrior.

  Mark smiled. You’re wrong, DeathBringer, Mark thought. He reached down and grabbed the dagger by the hilt.

  Mark felt its power flow through him, making him feel super-strong, fast, and confident. I played your card, Mark thought. That means I, too, can use this dagger! He ran toward the demon.

  DeathBringer brought his weapon down with fearsome force. Just as the morning star was about to slam into AngerHeart’s head, Mark dug the dagger deep into DeathBringer’s armored back. The glowing dagger split the demon’s armor like a pocket knife through marshmallow.

  Mark’s blow made the demon’s morning star shift. It hit the ground just inches from AngerHeart’s skull.

  “No!” DeathBringer cried out.

  Mark raised the dagger high over his head. He brought it down into the back of the demon’s helm, lodging it into DeathBringer’s skull.

  DeathBringer screamed in pain. Silver light burst from the weapon, throwing Mark from the demon’s back. He landed on the grass with a hard thud.

  Alex hobbled over to him, and the boys watched as the sliver of light grew. Soon the demon was surrounded by a ball of silver light. Then it vanished — and so did DeathBringer.

  Mark pulled out DeathBringer’s card. It was blank, just a thin sheet of dull metal.

  “He’s gone,” Mark whispered.

  Tired, AngerHeart climbed to his feet. He walked toward the boys and placed his armored gloves on their shoulders. “You have done well,” he said.

  Mark and Alex smiled at each other. “The demon is defeated,” AngerHeart said. His voice was tired and hoarse, and his armor was blackened and dented. “Your world is safe — for now.”

  “What about you?” Alex asked. “I still have your card.” He held it up for AngerHeart to see.

  AngerHeart smiled at Alex. “I have fought countless battles with you, Alex,” AngerHeart said. “But I have grown tired of fighting. My time must come to an end now.”

  “What?” Alex cried. “You saved us! You can’t just . . .”

  “I can,” AngerHeart said. His proud head was hung low, as if he were admitting defeat. “And I must. Besides, other, stronger warriors will take my place in the next expansion pack.”

  AngerHeart backed away from the two boys. “Rip the card in half,” he pleaded. “And end my suffering.”

  Mark’s shoulders sank. He could tell the warrior had made his decision. He looked over to Alex and his friend nodded. Reluctantly, Mark lifted AngerHeart’s card and held it between his hands by the fingers. “Goodbye,” Mark said. “And thank you.”

  Mark ripped the card in half . . . but nothing happened. Mark and Alex stared up at AngerHeart, confused.

  Just then, lightning streaked across the sky, crackling over and over above the town of Ravens Pass. Thunder shook the ground. The air seemed to be electrified.

  AngerHeart leaned in close to Mark. The foul stench of his breath invaded Mark’s nostrils. AngerHeart’s eyes grew red, glowing so devilishly that they seemed to dig into Mark’s skull.

  “No,” AngerHeart said, grabbing Mark and Alex with his metal fists. “Thank you for helping me get rid of the competition.”

  THE CRAZY CAT LADY CASE

  Case number: 232960

  Date reported: May 18

  Crime scene: Ravens Pass High School football stadium

  Civilian witnesses: Mark Gannon, age 14; Alex Reid, age 14

  Disturbance: Mark Gannon and Alex Reid, eighth-graders at Ravens Pass Middle School, somehow manage
d to summon two ancient demons into our realm.

  Evidence: The Ravens Pass football stadium was torn to shreds. Additionally, after some investigative research on the Epic Warriors trading card company, I discovered that the company’s CEO had several ties to a local Ravens Pass cult that practices black magic.

  Suspect: Tyler Wulfe, CEO of the Epic Warriors trading card company

  CASE NOTES:

  AFTER THEIR DUEL WITH A PAIR OF DEMONS, MARK AND ALEX APPROACHED TYLER WULFE TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT THE DANGERS OF HIS CARD GAME. INSTEAD, WULFE HAD THEM EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL AND CHARGED WITH VANDALISM OF THE FOOTBALL STADIUM. THAT’S WHEN MARK AND ALEX CAME TO ME FOR HELP.

  I PAID TYLER WULFE A SURPRISE VISIT. AT FIRST, HE SAID HE DIDN’T HAVE TIME FOR SOME CRAZY DETECTIVE. BUT WHEN I SAID I HAD PROOF THAT HE WAS PRACTICING BLACK MAGIC, TYLER QUICKLY CHANGED HIS TUNE AND INVITED ME INTO HIS OFFICE. AS I ENTERED, HE HANDED ME WHAT HE SAID WAS HIS BUSINESS CARD. AS I EXAMINED IT, I SAW THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY A BLANK EPIC WARRIORS TRADING CARD. STARING AT THE CARD, I FELT A STRANGE PULL TOWARD IT. IT SEEMED TO BE CALLING TO ME. I’D SEEN THIS TYPE OF THING BEFORE — AN ENTRAPMENT SPELL IS EASY TO IDENTIFY, IF YOU KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR.

  I FLIPPED THE CARD OVER JUST IN TIME. WRITHING AND SCREAMING, TYLER WAS SUCKED INTO THE TRADING CARD. THAT’S WHERE HE’LL STAY UNTIL I CAN CAPTURE THE OTHER CULT MEMBERS AND BRING THEM TO JUSTICE.

  DEAR READER,

  THEY ASKED ME TO WRITE ABOUT MYSELF. THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT JASON STRANGE IS NOT MY REAL NAME. IT’S A NAME I’VE TAKEN TO HIDE MY TRUE IDENTITY AND PROTECT THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT. YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE THE THINGS I’VE SEEN, WHAT I’VE WITNESSED. IF PEOPLE KNEW I WAS TELLING THESE STORIES, SHARING THEM WITH THE WORLD, THEY’D TRY TO GET ME TO STOP. BUT THESE STORIES NEED TO BE TOLD, AND I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TELL THEM.